The light of the shadow
by The Waunderer
Summary: In one universe Tim drake became a hero to save batman. In another he became a businessman like his father and would never know what he could have been. And yet in another universe he was neither of these, in one universe he was not a hero and he was certainly not a regular citizen. In one universe Tim drake would become the Shadow!
1. Chapter 1

Gotham, a decrepit city full of crime, corruption and filth. A city of darkness that is protected by a hero almost as dark. The batman, a hero of the shadows, waging a war to save a city that doesn't want to be saved. This however is not the story of batman's beginning, this isn't even the story of his most trusted ally robin. This is the story of a young child whose life was about to be changed forever.

As Batman and Robin patrolled the city they were unknowingly being watched. A child no older than nine was silently watching them, taking photos when the chance presented itself. This youth was Tim Drake, and strangely enough this was a normal Saturday for him, but it wouldn't be for long. As he was preparing to leave for home he realized that he was not quite alone. In the shadows of the building he was standing on was a man dressed in full battle armor. "Who are you?" Asked Tim, " I am someone who is very curious as to how you were able to watch Batman without being seen." As he talked he began to walk closer to Tim, "And depending in the answer I may be someone who is also very interested in your future", when he was fully in the light Tim could see that he wore a mask with only one opening for an eye. "What are you talking about, I probably just got lucky" Tim said hoping to make the man leave him alone. "Yes, I suppose you might have gotten lucky once, or perhaps you were even lucky two nights ago when the very same occurrence happened but those were not the only times that Batman and his sidekick did not notice you. You have watched them many times without being noticed by them but not unnoticed by us." "How did you... I never even..."Tim couldn't even speak he was so shocked and worried. If someone knew he was watching then they might know about the photographs that could tie batman to Bruce Wayne. "I am a representative of a much larger organization that has ties in nearly every single market, if a man in Kubai wishes to know about a drug deal in Pakistan he comes to us, if a rebellion needs to overthrow a government they seek out aid, and if a child can watch the batman and not be discovered you can be assured that we know about it. We make it our business to seek out new potential and you have come across our radar many times, we have decided that it would be wise to ensure you reach your full potential."

Tim was floored, if he understood correctly this man was saying that he wanted to train Tim, as this thought went through his head he tried to think of the reasons why he would be of interest to the organization spoke of. While he was pondering this he realized the man had never actually introduced himself. "You told me about the group you represent but who are you?" " I'm glad you caught that" the man said "my name is Deathstroke and I shall be your new master." As Deathstroke said this Tim began to realize that they were not alone. They were surrounded by around ten to twenty people on the buildings around them. Tim now extremely nervous asked " and if I refuse to go with you?" "Oh your compliance was never needed, in fact we find that after the first few years most initiates don't even remember a life before the training. And if you think your parents will disagree, well I would just like to add that they don't like having to leave their archeological digs very much do they? Seems they would love to have the chance to send their child to a very special 'school' for gifted children, no questions asked." This Tim knew was quite likely the truth, his parents were inattentive at their best and quite easily forgot about him the rest of the time. "To tell the truth, you were going to come with us either way, this discussion was just to see how much control we would need over you". All of a sudden everything went dark as what felt like a bag went over Tim's face. It must have been airtight because Tim quickly began to lose consciousness. As he went under Deathstroke said one last thing. " You will be the end of the era of the hero" with this ominous statement Tim finally slipped into unconsciousness.

End chapter one.


	2. The Shadows beginning

When Tim began to wake up he thought at first that the meeting had been just a vivid dream, and that he was in his room waking up. This illusion was shattered when he opened his eyes. He was strapped to a bed in what appeared to be a hospital room. All too soon he became aware that just like the night on the roof he was not alone. Sitting in a chair facing him was the man called Deathstroke. Before he could even open his mouth to ask where he was the man began to speak. "No doubt you're wondering where you are, and perhaps more importantly why your here. Well, the first question is both simple and rather complicated, and the second, well that's going to depend on you in a way. The simple answer to the first question is that you are at the med-bay in the training academy of the Light. Quite likely you are wondering both what the complicated part is and what I mean by the Light?" The mans voice was soothing but the words he was saying were anything 's mind was ringing with questions, thankfully it appeared that Deathstroke was about to explain quite a few of them. "The Light has many descriptions, to some it is a nightmare, to others a dream come true, some consider it their employer, others their religion. In short it is a organization made and run by criminals, it's of course different to all who know of it. To me, it is nothing more than a paycheck, to you however it is your new home." Finally, Tim seemed to regain his voice as he exclaimed, "what the hell do you mean? My home is in Gotham, not wherever the hell this is!" For some reason this seemed to amuse the man even further. " Well according to the admittance slip your parents signed your new home is 'Happy Harbor, Rhode Island. Apparently they felt that you needed to connect with some distant relations who live here. By the way, it's so nice to finally meet you nephew"! To say Tim's mind was blown would be an extreme understatement however before Tim could come up with any kind of response Deathstroke suddenly started chuckling. "Nah, not really, but the paper work does say that your living with your 'uncle' Slade Wilson. Now comes the explanation of why you are here, and truly that depends on you. What do you mean it depends on me, I'd rather not even be wherever the hell this place is, he exclaimed angrily. Well, first of all I already said where this is, it's a town called happy harbor, or at least very near it and second I mean that the decision your about to make is going to decide why you are here." The man suddenly seemed to straighten up and his voice grew more grim. "Right now you will make the most important decision of your life. It has been decided by the leaders of the light that your intelligence is of a high enough level that it would be best for you to join us of your free will. So we are giving you the offer of joining the light as a apprentice to one of our best specialists." For a minute Slades voice seemed to gain a small tone of smugness or pride. "And what if I don't want to join a organization of criminals or be an apprentice to one of them?" Though he was nearing petrified at all the information he had been given Tim was unable to stop the tone of defiance from leaking out. "If that is the case then we will be forced to...persuade you to come to our way of thinking, however I should warn you that the procedure is both painful and very much permanent. If we are forced to use this method you will no longer be the child who watched heroes swing through the sky nor will you be the genius who managed to escape the watchful eye of the batman, instead you will be nothing more than a machine fit for nothing more than receiving and accomplishing missions that we decide for it. I assure you this is not an existence I would wish for anyone, especially not someone with your potential. So with the choices in front of you I'll give you a little time to decide. As he said this he rose from the chair he was sitting in and began to walk out of the room.

As soon as the door closed Tim began to try to get out of his straps, but he quickly gave that up as he couldn't move an inch more than they let him. As soon as he realized he couldn't get out he began to wonder if he really had any choice at all. After all he decided with the option of becoming an apprentice at least he would gain skills that might allow him to escape one day. To tell the truth as soon as he was offered the apprenticeship a small part of him wanted to say yes just so he could become part of the world that his heroes lived in, this didn't mean that he wanted to become a villain but he truly couldn't think of any other option. His only other option was being turned into some mindless drone that would do whatever it's master commanded of it and that was of course no option at all.

In about five minutes time Deathstroke walked back into the room and returned to his chair. "Am I right in assuming that the Light has a new apprentice to train" he asked. Tim took a breath and gave the only answer he could. "You are."

Hi this is the waunderer just wanted to clarify a few things.

First, I know some of you will notice that Deathstroke is being extremely OC this is because he took control when I was writing his dialogue and made him that way. He will still be serious at a lot of times but I see him as being much more relaxed when he's not killing someone or fighting Batman. And second this is just in case anyone wondered Tim is around eleven years old, the Robin he saw was Jason who may or may not be dying in this fic. That's all for now. Ciao!


	3. Training a shadow

"I know what you are thinking, you will use the training I give you and try to escape from the light. This is an admirable but foolish thought for I tell you now when your training is complete you will not have to escape, I guarantee you that when I have taught you all I know they will not even think of trying to stop you from leaving if that is what you wish." These were the first words Deathstroke said to Tim when they began to train and as Tim would learn they were full of truth. Once these words were spoken the training began.

" _You will become a master of strategy."_

Hours spent pouring over the greatest military victories and defeats of histories greatest generals, from Sun Tzu to Hannibal, Tim would come to know them all. They were to become his advisors. Countless nights engaging in games of strategy versus Deathstroke, this became his test to see the rewards of his studies.

" _You will know your enemies as well as yourself."_

He began to study the techniques and histories of those he might fight one day. He searched for the origins of those who founded the light, from vandal savage the immortal caveman to lex Luthor the arch-rival to Superman. He would study the techniques of the heroes he might come up against one day, though still loved in heart his mind realized that one day he might have to fave his idols and he fully intended to win.

" _In a room full of people you will be invisible._ "

He trained in the art of stealth, this would be one of his tools, he would need great ability in espionage if he ever hoped to get away from the light, Deathstrokes words were not yet believed. Deathstroke taught him to be completely forgettable in the eyes of a trained detective in the middle of a crime scene, he could stalk a target for hours and never once be noticed.

" _Your body will become a living weapon_."

He was trained in countless martial arts, from Jiu Jitsu to the ancient form of Pankration. Deathstroke taught him to win a fight with honor if possible and with ruthlessness if necessary. With his training he could win anywhere from the wildest bar fight to the most regulated competition once his training was complete. However hand-to-hand fighting would not be his preferred type of fighting, after all it would be a death sentence against most of his future opponents.

" _Your mind will be an unstoppable force."_

Puzzles of logic and reasoning became commonplace for Tim. He was taught how to think and learn on his own. If he came across a subject he didn't understand he was shown how to acquire that information. Most forms of education such as math and English were left for him to study when and if he wished, they would not be necessary for his future life. While most children learned about gerunds and Shakespeare, he learned how to interrogate someone in order to find out where a target was or the information necessary for completing a mission.

" _I will be the new idol you love."_

Deathstroke became the one who tended to him when he was injured, the one who showed him the ways of the world. Though he took him from his parents he would also never abandon him like they did. He became not just Deathstroke the cold trainer but also Slade the man who taught him everything he would need to survive. When not training him, Slade could be a kind and even fun mentor to have. Slade would become a sort of father figure to Tim.

 _"I will be the demon you hate."_

Deathstroke was merciless in training. He would push Tim to his limits and then find ways to push far past them. He would engage Tim in discussions of what he learned and then just as suddenly begin fighting him without a moments notice. There were no sick days, no times to relax unless Deathstroke said so, and those times were very infrequent. At times Tim would wish for nothing more than the ability to kill Deathstroke regardless of the consequences.

" ...but, for now you are none of these things." For a moment Deathstroke seemed thoughtful and even slightly sad, " after today you will never be the same, you will never see the world the same way, today your training will truly begin. This is the start of you new life, we shall start with...

End chapter. Hey this is the waunderer sorry for the wait. I had to figure out how to get the training out of the way, after this there will be more dialogue. Also just 'waundering' if I should actually do a chapter showing Deathstroke training Tim or if I should just go ahead and do a time skip. Reviews on this would be welcome.


	4. A shadows mission

The night air was cold on Tim's face as he pulled his mask down. As he looked off of the roof he stood on he began to prepare his mind for what was about to happen. His master had decided the time was right for his first solo mission. He was tasked with eliminating a gang leader in starling city that had been encroaching on one of the lights businesses. He was only told to eliminate him, how he did it was entirely up to him.

As Tim saw it he had a few strategies he could employ here. He knew the man was a chronic gambler and always frequented the same establishments, therefore finding a location to get rid of him would be simple. One problem however was that the man was extremely paranoid leading to him investing heavily in his bodyguards. If Tim chose to take the man up close he would have to prepare for an extremely tough fight. Another option would be to arm a series of explosives in his main hideouts. Tim didn't wish to go with this idea because of all the collateral damage and the wide publicity it would receive. The last and probably best option would be to find a good vantage point away from the mans favorite casino and wait for an opportune moment to snipe him. If Tim did go with this option he would have to have an excellent escape option for when the bodyguards would come after him. Thankfully Deathstroke had drilled into his mind to always be prepared for every foreseeable event and Tim had several escape vehicles hidden around the city. As Tim thought on it he decided that the vantage plan, as he chose to call it, had the best odds of succeeding. He quickly began to make his way to the targets' favored casino. Thankfully it appeared that starlings chosen hero, Green Arrow and his sidekick were out of town on league business so the odds of him being disturbed as he waited were very low.

It had been two nights and the target had yet to show and Tim's patience was wearing thin. If the target didn't show tonight Tim would be forced to resort to one of his other plans. As Tim watched the casino he began to review all the information he had on the man he was assigned to kill.

The mans name was Francis Klamath, he was born into crime and crime was all he knew. When he was twenty-two he was inducted into the yakuza in starling city, while he never rose very far in the ranks he did make several connections that would eventually allow him to form his own small time gang. Recently he had begun to expand his organization from low time crooks to high end drug dealers. Unfortunately for Klamath the latest get already controlled a large part of the drug trade in star city and they didn't take very kindly to a new drug cartel in town. Klamath had attracted the attention of the light and not in a good way.

Suddenly a car appeared in front of the casino, as it stopped a man got out. Tim's pulse began to quicken as he recognized the mans face. It was without a doubt Klamath. Quickly Tim began to ready the scope on his Remington sniper rifle. He calmly lined up his shot, he took one short breath before he fired. In less than a second Klamath was down and the first part of Tim's mission was complete.

Quickly he disassembled his rifle and made his way to his motorcycle, with any luck he would be back at the safe house before anyone even knew where the shot came from. Now that Klamath was dead he would need to eliminate all of his generals and lieutenants. To do this Tim would have to employ all the skills Deathstroke had taught him in gathering information.

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When Tim reached the safe house he hid his bike and quickly entered the building. The building was unimpressive, on the outside it appeared to be a regular apartment complex and to most people that was exactly what it was. The only strange thing was how one of the floors was always rented to the same person, a person who was barely if ever there. It was on this floor that the safe house was located.

He made his way to the armory so that he could store his gear. This was one of Slade's more heavily driven rules, always take care of your gear first so that it would take care of you. He stored his rifle on the armory shelves and placed the uniform he had worn into the correct shelves. Once his gear was properly stored away he began to relax and recuperate from the stress of the mission. As he relaxed the realization of what he had done finally sank in, he had started and completed part of his first solo mission. He had employed his own strategy and successfully taken out his target without any complications, so far at least, arising. Thankfully he had killed before so the mental problems of the first kill weren't an issue. As this thought crossed his mind the memory of his first kill came to the surface of his thoughts.

Flashback Flashback Flashback Flashback Flashback Flashback Flashback Flashback

The room was cold but not unpleasantly so. In the center of the room kneeled a man, his face was covered and his chest was bare. He was gasping as if he struggled to pull in each of his breaths. Suddenly a door opened and two people walked in, one was tall and heavily built and the other appeared to be child sized. The child like figure carried a short sword vaguely resembling a katana. As the child walked closer to the man on the floor the other closed the door and crossed his arms. For a moment all was silent, and then the man spoke.

"Today, you truly begin your journey into the new life you will live. It will start with this man who kneels before you, the ending of his life will be the beginning of yours. In your heart you may feel that he deserves life and that you have no right to take his life to further your own." At this the child flinched as if the man had read his thoughts. "It's alright, these thoughts are normal and I would be far more worried if you weren't bothered by it. This is why the man before you was carefully selected to ease you into the act. The man before you, if he can actually be called that, is one of the worst kinds of scum, he's a child molester. You are here to carry out his punishment, to make him atone for his sins. The truth is however that you will not always be killing those who deserve it, you will be given missions where you kill those whom you may feel deserve to live, so you must choose right now if this is the life you truly want, this is your last chance to back out and use your talents elsewhere." For a moment it looked as if the child would indeed back out, but then a look entered his eyes, it was a look of resolve. A look that said nothing would stop him from the path he had been placed on, true he may not have chosen this path once but now it was the best road he could take for himself.

All was silent and then the child quietly spoke. "I chose this path, nothing will stop me from traveling it." In less than a second the sword rose and fell, the mans head quickly dropped to the ground.

End flashback End flashback End flashback End flashback End flashback End flashback

In that moment he had lost all ties to the Tim who had stood on a building and watched a hero swing across the sky. This was not to say that he didn't still believe in good and evil, it was more like he now also believed in a world that had grey in it. He now firmly believed that was where he would reside, somewhere between the heroes he once worshipped and the villains they fought.

It was now time to begin to plan how to finish the rest of his mission. He needed to eliminate the generals and lieutenants of Klamaths gang. His plan was to kill them off quickly enough that they would be dead before anyone noticed they were being eliminated. It would require careful planning and even more careful execution. For tonight though, all that mattered was the bed calling his name.

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A man walked out of a building and approached the car waiting for him. He quickly got in and ordered his bodyguard to take him back to his house. It was unfortunate for him that he didn't have his driver check for any explosives, if he had he might've lived past the first block. As it was his death was very memorable...and very explosive.

Tim knew when he heard the explosion that another member of Klamaths quickly shrinking gang had been eliminated. This was the third of the gangs remaining leaders he had gotten rid of after killing Klamath and he knew they would be gathering soon. Unfortunately he had heard word on the streets that Green Arrows sidekick, speedy he thought it was, had returned to starling city. This could lead to complications, he had hoped to complete the mission before ether of the heroes had returned. This meant that he was now on a much shorter timetable and that he would have to make sure to eliminate the rest of the group quickly, thankfully there were only three or four of them left. Honestly at this point it was more about sending a message than anything else, by eliminating a gang that had encroached on the lights business it would make anyone else who had those same inclinations think twice.

Since speedy had returned Tim decided that he needed to finish the mission and get out of starling city that night. He quickly began to search out any and all informants who might know where the men he was searching for were at. He started with former members of Klamaths now destroyed gang, with any luck one of them would know one of the generals locations.

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After several hours and multiple interrogations Tim finally had gotten a location of one of the remaining generals. He quickly made his way to the mans location. With any luck the man would be able to tell Tim the final locations of the remaining targets before he died.

As he approached the mans house he began to scout out the perimeter to try and find the locations of all the guards. The house appeared to be a modern style mansion with around ten guards actively patrolling it. Tim decided to try and get around the guards as this would be a perfect test for his stealth skills. He stuck to the shadows and only moved when he was sure no one would see him move. He used every single bit of knowledge Deathstroke had imparted about how to move silently and stealthily. Soon enough he entered the house, now he just had to find his target, get the last locations and get out of this city by the morning.

He began to search through the rooms, uncertain as to where his target would be. As he searched through one of the bedrooms he heard voices shouting over each other. As he got closer he realized that the voices belonged to the last remaining leaders of Klamaths gang. If Tim was lucky he would be heading to the extraction zone in just a few minutes. He pulled out his silenced pistol and prepared to open the door.

3...2...1, he opened the door silently and scanned the room. All three of his targets were sitting around a table arguing over who might be hunting them down. Tim smiled to himself at the irony and lined up his shots. As all the guards were outside patrolling no one would notice the men were dead and Tim had a good window of escape. He left the room and began making his way to the airport where a plane was waiting for him.

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To ensure he got out of the city cleanly he made certain he obeyed all the rules of the road as he made his way to the airport. After a while he began to notice a figure on the rooftops keeping pace with him. If his suspicions were correct his departure just became more difficult and much more urgent. He began to increase his speed. He was only around one mile away when the figure disappeared. All of a sudden a the sound of a second motorcycle erupted as the figure began to quickly gain on Tim. Spurred on by the sudden appearance, tim pushed his cycle to the limits. He had less than one hundred yards when the figure shot an arrow at his bike. It must have had some sort of incendiary device on it because when it hit Tim's cycle it erupted in an explosion of light taking one of Tim's wheel with it. Tim was thrown off the bike and nearly blacked out when he hit the ground.

The second he was able to he began to try and find the figure. As soon as he saw him his suspicions were realized as he recognized the uniform of Green Arrows sidekick, Speedy. He began to make his way over to where Tim lay on the ground. Tim began to try and assess his injuries. From what he was able to tell he had a severely sprained ankle, possibly three cracked ribs and a dislocated shoulder. With all of his injuries there would be no way for him to the pseudo-hero by fighting, he would have to find an opportunity to get to the plane, or make one he realized.

"Whew, I thought for a minute you were a hero, guess I got lucky with you only being a sidekick." Speedy stopped walking and from what Tim could see of him was trying to restrain his anger. "Huh, you don't look to lucky, laying there on the ground trying to get up" he snarled. Tim suddenly started laughing as hard as he could. "And what the hells so funny about that! It's just...you might've caught...me, but I bet...you don't even know...about the bombs! Tim responded. Suddenly there was a massive explosion far off in the city. "You bastard! How many more are there, he demanded while shaking Tim. Pretending to be frightened Tim stammered that there were three others gave their location and begged speedy not to hurt him. "You bastard I'll be back for you once I disarm those bombs. Speedy quickly got on his bike and drove back into the city desperately hoping to stop the other bombs from going off.

Once speedy was out of sight Tim started to laugh. There had been only one bomb, it had been placed in a building about to be destroyed far on the outskirts of starling city. It had been one of Tim's backup plans for if he had to escape from one of starlings heroes and thankfully it had worked. He struggled to his feet and began to make his way to the plane that was waiting for him. As he did so a thought arose in his head. "I did it, I completed a mission by myself! This was the first mission he has ever done by himself and it was successful.

As he boarded the train he set it to autopilot and began to relax. It would take a while to get back to base and he couldn't wait to see Slade's expression!

 **Hey, this is the waunderer. Sorry for the wait, I contracted a most despicable case of writers block and then when that ended I succumbed to that most foul disease...UNMOTIVATION! I hope to have a new chapter out soon but, you never know. Thanks to my anonymous friend for the aid by the way, yep you know who you are. Ciao!**


	5. The shadow apprentice

...follow me", Tim's head snapped up from the position it had been in. He had been expecting either praise or perhaps critiques for his missions performance, but surely not the nearly cold response his master had given him. He had just finished recounting his first ever solo mission and his master was acting as if it were just another training session.

Suddenly doubts started racing through Tim's mind as he wondered if he had done something wrong. Perhaps he had done something wrong in the mission and he was about to be punished. Then suddenly a darker thought entered his mind, maybe his master had decided he wasn't worthy of being his apprentice and had decided to get rid of him. All these thoughts rushed through his mind before he realized see that Deathstroke was waiting for him to follow.

He quickly spring to his feet and began to trail after his master. Regardless of what his master had decided Tim chose to face it with dignity and calm. The quickly began to walk down the hallways of the Lights base. Tim kept trying to figure out what he had done wrong in his mission. He wondered if his master knew he had nearly been captured by Speedy. If that was the reason then maybe he could convince his master that even though he had nearly been caught he had also outwitted the young hero and escaped.

While Tim tried to come up with an argument Deathstroke walked into a chamber with a single, solitary jet inside. It was a Bombardier Global Express 6000 and it was fully prepped for a journey that was going to change Tim's life.

The door to the jet opened and Deathstroke began to walk in with Tim close on his heels. As Tim got in the plane he noticed that it Had different section for different uses. There was an armoury that was equipped for pretty much any type of mission possible. It had Camouflage suits for espionage, sniper rifles and traps for assassinations and even fully tailored suits for the occasional business trip they would go on. There was a section that was clearly for relaxation and recuperation. It had several armchairs, a flat inch t.v., and even a fully equipped book-shelf. The last section appeared to be a med-lab, it had a operating table with an automated medical operator that probably cost as much as the jet. Tim thoroughly approved of the way the jet was set up, you would be able to prepare for any mission and recuperate afterwards without any trouble; however, he was now even more confused as to where Deathstroke was taking him. Surely, he thought, if he was getting rid of me he wouldn't go through the trouble of taking me on this jet. Glimmers of hope began to go through Tim's mind, perhaps he was just going on another mission with Deathstroke.

As the plane took off Tim made his way to the bookshelf and got a copy of miyamoto musashi's The Book of Five Rings. It was a book he was determined to commit to memory. Deathstroke had often told him that when facing an enemy of equal skill, it was the mind that would decide the victor not the body. Tim was determined that when such a fight came along he would be prepared. He made his way to a chair and began to learn the teachings of the worlds most famous samurai.

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After three hours the plane finally began to make its descent through the night air. It was approaching an airstrip near an immense mansion. It had an almost ancient look to it, a look that seemed to suggest it had been there for ages and fully intended to stay for several more. It was close to a lake and the airstrip that they were about to reach.

The plane set down and they began to walk towards the door to get out. Deathstroke exited first with Tim close behind them. Suddenly Tim noticed that at the bottom of the planes ramp a man was waiting for them. He appeared to be a butler in the later days of his life. Thanks to Deathstrokes training though, Tim could easily see from the way he held himself that this seemingly innocuous, butler was heavily trained and much more skilled than Tim himself was.

"Ah, Slade it is good to see you again! Might I assume by the young man at your side that you have finally chosen one? This cryptic question was only answered by a slight nod of Slade's head. "Well thank, let's not waste any more time. Everything is prepared in the armoury if you are ready." At this Slade began to walk towards the manor and the butler made a beckoning motion to Tim. "Well, young man I suppose I should introduce myself, my name is William Wintergreen and I am the butler of man who is so grimly walking towards the manor. If you will accompany me I shall show you your room while Slade prepares everything. This way please."

A bemused Tim began to follow the cheerful butler towards the manor. "If you wish I could tell you some of the history of this manor while we make our way to your room? Before Tim even had a chance to respond wintergreen had already begun talking again. Wilson manor as it is officially called was built in the year 1842...

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"...So as you can clearly tell by now this manor is steeped in history of all kinds!" At this cheery exultation by wintergreen Tim snapped out of the stupor the mans voice had put him in. They were standing before a room in the manor and Tim was trying to remember when they had even entered the manor." Before I take you to your room I would like to examine your injuries to make sure they were properly taken care of." Wintergreen beckoned Tim inside the room which contained a first aid station. "Please sit on the table and remove your shirt." Wintergreen's voice had changed from the cheerful British butler voice to a calm and almost clinical voice.

"Please name all areas that were affected in a harmful manner during your mission" Tim began to list of his injuries in a slightly bemused voice, still slightly caught off guard by the change in Wintergreen. The butler began to show his skill in medicine as he quickly rewrapped Tim's bandages and began to inspect his other injuries. He would often ask Tim questions and begin talking again before Tim even had a chance to respond. "Did you happen to... Ah yes I see how that would happen. Why on earth is...but of course that would be the logical choice in such a situation." After a minute of this Tim began to wonder just where the man had gotten his training, he often seemed to know what was wrong the second he examined an injured part of Tim.

"Well, I suppose that just about does it, as your doctor though I would advise you to avoid being on exploding motorcycles for the foreseeable future!" In less than a second the cheerful voice was back in full force and Tim was once again completely caught off guard by it. "I suppose that is good advice" Tim replied in a joking manner.

"So, I'm guessing you would like to go to your room now and get some rest?" Tim nearly cried at the wonderful suggestion, while he had been trained for over a year he was still a twelve year old who had just finished a mission and was exhausted. "Judging by the near rapturous look on you face I can guess the answer to that is yes. Very well follow me please."

The man suddenly started walking off towards a pair of stairs.

As they moved throughout the manor toward Tim's room he tried to be aware, but his body was beginning to feel the exhaustion of the past few days. The view he had of the hallways began to dim as he neared his new room. Wintergreen stopped and stood beside a dark door and before he began talking Tim wordlessly pushed past him sensing that this was his room. "Ah, I see that my help is no longer needed, enjoy your rest!"

Tim entered his room and immediately saw his target. It wasn't even disguised, just sitting there with no protection. He crept nearer and nearer, silent as a ghostly specter until he suddenly stood before his target in all its unabated glory. He struck quickly and without sound. In less than a minute he was asleep on the master bed.

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As the sun began to rise Tim slowly awoke. As he woke up he finally began to look at the room he had passed out in. He noticed that his bags had been put in a corner and his clothes had been put into a wardrobe that near his door. As he got out of bed and stepped onto the carpet he noticed that there was a note put at the foot of his bed.

"Tim, you will not be needing to practice today as you have just finished a mission. Please take today to fully recuperate and relax. If you have need of anything find Wintergreen, he shall be happy to help you.

Slade. P.S. If he challenges you to billiards do not accept, the mans a devil at the game.

Tim suddenly frowned, for the most part the entire past year had been spent training. Now that he had a free day he wasn't entirely sure what to do with himself. As he thought this his stomach suddenly began to growl. Tim bit back a blush and thanked God his master hadn't heard that. Now that he was fully woken up he realized that he was absolutely starving. The last things he had eaten were some snacks in the jet.

He quickly got dressed so that he could find the kitchen. He chose some older jeans and a green t-shirt since he wouldn't need clothes for training. He then slipped out the door and began navigating the sprawling manor.

Now that he was fully awake he was able to appreciate the majesty of the manor. It wasn't ostentatiously decorated, it leaned more towards the silent majesty. The woodwork was professionally done with paintings of what Tim assumed were Slade's ancestors scattered about. He realized that he was in a guest wing and so most of the rooms he was passing were just extra bedrooms.

As he further explored he became aware of a mouth-watering aroma that was permeating the air. As he neared the source of the smell he found himself in a moderately sized dining room. In the center of the room was a table where Wintergreen was eating his breakfast.

"Ah, I thought you might be up, I don't suppose your hungry are you," as he said this he gestured towards a covered dish. "Thought you might be a tad bit hungry after you went to sleep without eating, so I prepared an extra breakfast just in case."

"What is it," Tim asked wanting to be polite. "Well, some might call it an English breakfast but I of course added in my own little variations. But how about instead of me describing it I just let you form your own conclusions?"

Tim right then and there that Wintergreen must be an angel because when he uncovered the dish he found to his deep joy a breakfast fit for a king. Sausages pancakes and everything else a fledgling apprentice could desire!

As he began devouring...err eating his breakfast he began to study the man sitting near him. He was a man in his late forties, well-built and with a military haircut. He had a slight scar going across his right cheek as if he had been grazed by a bullet. He was about 5'11 with steel gray eyes, which Tim suddenly noticed were also looking directly at him. "You might want to be a bit more subtle when your analyzing a target kid, your face gives your thoughts away too easily. If you want to know more about me just ask, kay?" Tim nodded and went back to his food as if he wasn't unnerved at the man catching him, he had thought he was being subtle. Obviously he needed to work more on his espionage skills. "So, how do you know Slade Mr. Wintergreen," Tim asked. "Well first it's just wintergreen, no Mr. needed or wanted and I met him back in my old S.A.S. days. He saved my life when I was sent on a mission that went FUBAR." "FUBAR?" Tim asked, "What's that?" For a second Wintergreen looked stumped as if he hadn't expected Tim to ask that. "Erm, it is a term for when a mission goes very badly."

For a second Tim thought about continuing with this line of questioning but judging by the look in Wintergreens face he decided not to. "Slade told me I'm not supposed to be training today, so do you have any suggestions of what I could do instead?" A devilish look appeared on Wintergreens face right before he said, "Well, if you want, you could try a game of billiards." Suddenly remembering the last part of Slade's note,Tim began to try to think of a way to get out of the suggestion without seeming rude. "I don't really think that's what Slade had in mind, perhaps I should try and find the library instead." At this Wintergreen slumped in his chair, "Slade warned you didn't he, bloody bastard's always ruining my fun. Well, if you decide you want a game I'll be in the rec-room."

Tim watched as Wintergreen walked out of the room without another word. Tim quickly finished his own breakfast and decided to explore the rest of the manor to try and find the library.

As he explored Tim made note of all the paintings of Slade's ancestors. One thing he noticed was that almost all of the men and many of the women had a look of the military about them. Many sported impressive uniforms from all eras of war all the way back to the French and Indian war.

Tim found all kinds of rooms throughout the manor including a few secret ones. Behind the picture of a one armed man he found a passageway that led to a small bedroom. Tim wasn't sure why a bedroom would be hidden and resolved to ask Slade if he knew the reason later. Another hidden room was actually hidden behind a bookcase. Tim could barely stop laughing at the clichés when he found that one.

After about half an hour Tim finally found the library. It appeared to take up an entire wing by itself. As he browsed through it he found books on every subject imaginable. There were books from the proper brewing of tea all the way to a historical account of Erik the Red.

Tim couldn't even decide where to start. He decided to just grab ten books that looked interesting and start reading. Hopefully no one would find him for a while because he was planning to go incommunicado.

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Five hours later ~ Tim had just finished his third book when Wintergreen came marching into the library with a scowl on his face. "That's it! I refuse to allow you to continue wasting your first day off in who knows how long just reading all day! Your coming with me!" In less than a second, Tim was strung across Wintergreen's back and they were marching out the door. "Now normally, I'm sure you would be more than happy to do something else other than read but obviously you have been corrupted by Slade's bad choices in life." "Do you mean the fact that he accepts contracts to kill people?" Tim asked still wondering exactly what was going on and when Wintergreen would put him back down. "No, I mean his tendency to act more like a nerd than a billionaire! The killings perfectly natural."

"Now you have approximately five more hours till dinner so we have plenty of time to correct Slade's bad habits in you. Your choices for activities are Call of Duty, an action movie with barely any plot or my personal favorite...Billiards." For a minute, all was quiet before Tim asked, "Why can't I just read?" At this Wintergreen's face clouded over and a look of death entered his eyes. "Or you know Call of Duty also sounds really good," Tim quickly responded. "Good choice!" Wintergreen cheerily responded quickly shifting emotions once again. "Let's go!" "Aren't you going to let me down now?" Tim quickly asked. "Nope."

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"I don't get it, that shot should have killed me instantly, how is my character still alive?" It had been two hours and Wintergreen was beginning to regret his choice of games. Tim as wintergreen to his misfortune found out was a natural at Call of Duty. As they played Tim began to win more and more matches until he had a ten win streak under his belt. "Kid, the games supposed to be unrealistic, that's part of the fun. Just relax and have fun." Suddenly Tim killed Wintergreen's character again. "But I only shot you in the spine! That shouldn't have been a kill at all!" Wintergreen groaned in exasperation. "Obviously Slade has infected you with his poor life choices even worse than I had thought if this is how you play video games.

For a while neither said anything until Tim suddenly asked, "where's Slade? I mean I haven't seen him since I got off the plane." Wintergreen suddenly paused the game. "Slade is preparing something that you have only recently earned. You'll find out what exactly later this evening. Now for gods sake, relax and enjoy the game which you're nefariously good at.

They played for several more hours until wintergreen looked at his watch and began to stand. "If your ready it's time to eat." They made their way back to the room where they had had breakfast. "Isn't Slade going to eat?" Tim asked as he looked around for his mentor. "He's probably a little busy right now." "Busy with what?" Tim asked. "Once we're done eating you'll see for yourself." After that they ate their dinner and made light conversation.

Soon enough they had both finished and Wintergreen suddenly stood. "Please follow me, it's time to go see your mentor." As they began to walk out of the room Tim's mind began to try and figure out where they might be going. They started walking towards the lower levels of the manor. The architecture of the lower levels was of a much older make than that of the rest of the manor.

Eventually they reached a wall that only contained a single picture. It was of a man, he was dressed in a military uniform unfamiliar to Tim. Wintergreen walked up to the picture and stared directly into the eye of the man. A small light flashed into Wintergreen's eye and without a sound the painting opened. Wintergreen motioned for Tim to go in first.

As he entered the room the first thing Tim noticed was the weapons. It appeared as if the Wilson's had been collecting weaponry for generations. There were all kinds of weapons, from muskets from the 1700's to a collection of pristine Colt .45 revolvers. As they walked Tim even thought he spied what appeared to be a fully functioning tank.

The room, if such a large space could really be called that, was extremely organized almost in a museum like fashion. There were hallways that led to each type of weapon. Tim and wintergreen were walking along a path that lead toward a descending staircase. As they reached the staircase Wintergreen stopped abruptly. "Your mentor is just down these stairs." "Why aren't you coming?" Tim asked a little unsurely. "Because this is something that should only be seen by you and your mentor. Now, go your master is waiting for you."

Although a little anxious over what awaited him at the bottom of the stairs, Tim began to walk down. As he approached the bottom of the stairs he saw his master kneeling in the center of the room the stairs led to.

"Tim" his masters voice suddenly rang out. "For a year now I have trained you to see if you were worthy of becoming my apprentice. I have seen you train from a scared little boy to a someone capable of going on a mission and succeeding against a hero. You have made me proud to gift you the title of apprentice."

Tim almost felt his knees give way in shock at what he had just heard. For an entire year he had trained until he could barely stand just so he could hear those words. "Come here Tim, I have something to show you." Slade got up and walked over to a wall and placed his hand against it. "As my apprentice you are fully deserving of your own armor that signifies who you are at heart." "And who am I master?" Tim asked quietly. "You are the shadow that no one sees coming. The knife in the dark, but also the hand holding the gun. You are my apprentice and as of tonight you will be the shadow of the Light!"

Hey everybody! This is the waunderer, sorry for the wait but writers block is horrible. Anyhow please drop a poor starving writer a review and maybe a favorite or a follow. Also I'd like to give credit for a lot of this chapter to 'Watcher 4032' he's a great beta. Also the ideas for the billiards came from him so thanks. And lastly I don't own any of this, if I did then joker would have eyebrows in the new movie. Ciao!


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